The Adventurer's Guild

Having heard the words uttered by Christina, the senior receptionist moved slightly and saw the person—people inside.

One of them was a man with a big built sitting standing in front of a woman. The woman was sitting inconspicuously at the table facing the man. They were in a vulgar position with their eyes wide open and looking at the direction of the indifferent Christina.

It took some time for them to notice the bright red face of the senior receptionist who couldn't escape from the situation. With Mike's glance, he immediately ran for it.

The woman hurriedly pushed the man away and went to some corner to dress.

"M-Mas, ehem—Lady Christina. It's been a while."

The big-built man turned out to be the Current Guild Master of the Adventurer's Guild, Michael Ranac or commonly known as Mike.

He was a noble from the Ranac Baronial Family that governed the territory where the town resides. As a fifth son, he became an adventurer and managed to attain the position of the Guild Master.

Mike offered Christina to sit on the sofa to distract her.

Even though the woman got dressed as if nothing happened, the red marks on her shoulder couldn't hide what had occurred. Embarrassed, the woman tried to breathe several times to regain composure. As she cleared her mind, she got confused as to why she had to be embarrassed.

Christina indifferently sat comfortably without paying attention to the concerns of the people inside. She carefully put the basket conspicuously.

"U-uhm, Ma—"

"Mike."

Christina looked at Mike who was gauging her intention for the sudden visit.

Mike carefully sat down opposite her as if nothing happened.

"Ehem, Lady Christina. I'm not flirting around. I already settled down about 3 years ago. By the way, she's my wife, Liliana Lauremoux. Eldest Daughter of Count Lauremoux from the nearby region ."

By habit, Liliana observed her husband while bowing respectfully towards Christina. Mike seemed to be delighted at her fast uptake.

She could conclude that Christina wasn't one of Mike's exes but rather a person of standing. He had immense respect for her.

A woman of power. That's her impression of Christina.

"I see. My bad."

Although Christina gave a rude remark at the well-mannered greeting of Liliana, Mike understood that she's in a hurry and won't pay attention to other details. Liliana could also read the mood and excused herself.

Mike pushed away any pleasantries and directly asked.

"What's up?"

"This."

Christina carefully placed the big basket on top of the table in between. Mike stupidly wondered what he would do at the big basket and even asked.

"What am I supposed to do with it?"

"Look at it yourself."

When Mike was about to grab the basket in haste but Christina slapped his rough hand away.

"Careful!"

Helpless, Mike took the basket. This time he treated it with utmost care like glass.

Heavy, that was his first impression.

Taking off the cover, Mike's jaw dropped when he saw a beautiful baby inside wearing his old baby clothes.

Overwhelmed by the situation, he spoke whatever came into his mind.

"Granny, when did you give birth to this baby?! Who's the unlucky guy?! Why didn't you invite me to your wedding?!"

Throbbing veins on her temples popped up and became more pronounced in each word he uttered. Bad would be an understatement to Christina's horrible expression.

"Give the baby back."

He dazedly handed over the basket. Christina carefully placed the basket beside her while silently snapping which produced a small barrier in the process.

"Seriously—"

Mike was about to open his mouth and speak nonsense again. Without a word, Christina grabbed his arm. She effortlessly threw his big figure 180 degrees onto the ground.

Crying out in pain, Mike wondered what went wrong. He took a glimpse of Christina but all he could see was the murderous intent that's spilling out of her small body.

"Are you going to talk normally now?"

"Y-yes."

Sulking, Mike sat back on his seat and changed into his business mode.

"I found this baby on my altar. I don't need to elaborate, do I?"

Christina threw the bomb right there and then. Mike was able to draw a lot of conclusions with a single clue.

"Shit."

Although currently, it was just a possibility, it didn't try to arbitrarily exclude the idea of people making factions to enact rituals for sacrifice.

"But this could be just another abandoned child…"

Suggesting a more positive outlook on the situation, Christina frowned, pursing her lips at his words.

"Mike. I didn't raise you just so you could speak bullshit in front of me. Would you like me to train your children early so you could retire right away?"

Reprimanding the poor Mike, he just had to say something unnecessary.

"But I don't even have a single child yet…"

Christina's running out of her patience.

"Mike."

She called back Mike's attention. Mike abruptly put both of his hands in the air, surrendering.

"Give me some time."

"What about the child?"

"This…"

Awkwardly peeked several times at Christina's expression, Mike hung his head down.

"… you have to take care of it yourself."

…coo...coo...

"I—What?"

Christina felt like she had gotten deaf for a second. Her eyes blinked several times unable to fathom what came out of Mike's mouth.

"Uhm… that… You see…"

The big built man Mike fiddled his fingers. Christina found it unsightly, shutting her eyelids close.

"What?"

With sparkling eyes, Mike immediately grabbed the opportunity and tried to reason his way out.

"You see, my wife and I were planning to have children right now—"

"Good then. Bye."

Interrupting Mike, Christina bid him farewell as she stood up and was about to leave.

"We-Wait! Mas—"

Unable to learn a thing from his recent mistakes, Mike tasted another set of violence from Christina. He didn't mind the pain and endured as he knelt both of his knees in front of Christina. As if, he was begging for his life.

"Lady Christina. Please understand! I'm just at the starting point of my married life!"

"Perfect! You could practice on being parents early in the game."

She turned her back on him, but Mike kept a hold of her hand. He didn't let go even if he got dragged in the process, tightening his grip at every step.

"Please Lady Christina! My Goddess! I really cannot afford to keep the baby. My wife might misunderstand! I beg your understanding, please! Please!"

Mike's desperate pleas were even heard by the people downstairs. This was a usual event amongst the guild therefore they operated like usual.

Pressing hard on her temples, Christina peeked at Mike's sorry state. He did not seem to be lying but she had to address one thing—

"Isn't that your fault? You go around bedding all the women of your type. Now, am I to blame for your incompetent self? That even your wife would think twice if you shelter a poor abandoned baby and bring it home?"

Every sentence was like a knife stabbing deep into his heart. Christina rolled her eyes after watching his drama. She began to notice her dry throat. After all, it's been three years since she talked this long.

Her voice came out hoarse. It was overheard by the baby in the basket and inevitably cry in alarm. Christina hurriedly ran towards the baby. She unconsciously caressed it on her shoulders like every other mother.

Woah, what a sight. I didn't think that the master would have this side on her. Is this not her real child? What a pity.

Mike was dumbfounded at Christina's actions.

The moment the baby calmed down; Christina began to have second thoughts. After all, there's still a possibility that the baby was kidnapped. She had to think very carefully.

Christina didn't want to leave a baby on its own in this malicious world. Neither did she want to raise the baby ignorant of the world. Thinking only she could provide the balance of both, Christina finally nodded her head.

Mike snapped at another unintentional cough of Christina. He immediately went out to fetch a glass of water near his table.

"Here."

Given a glass of water, Christina drank and said reminding him.

"You still need to search."

With that, Mike's face lit up, and nodded numerous times.

After Christina affirmed Mike's sincerity, she ordered him.

"Inform the bank—I need to buy several items, it'll cost a lot. You'll come with me."

In a flash, energy left Mike's body. He initially thought that he could continue with his wife, but it ended up dejected.

Liliana couldn't sit still until she saw her husband and Christina walking downstairs. She wanted to ask Mike for a private discussion but he raised his hand to stop her.

She checked on his complexion. It was written all over his face that it was neither the right time nor the appropriate place. She then retreated and went back home on her own.

Since the baby was comfortably resting on her shoulders, Christina decided to leave the basket and went out as is. Mike noticed the basket and was not sure what to do with it.

Ultimately, he decided to put it away in preservation storage. It was a specific storage used in case something inside could be of use for future references.

Mike and Christina with the baby went around the town buying all sorts of baby necessities. He had to rent a low-class carriage in a hurry to prevent him from dying at an early age.

For a whole day, Mike got enslaved by Christina. She happily spent her money that wasn't touched for god knows since when.

…

On their way back, Mike had to attach another carriage. It used to be a cart for handling prisoners or slaves, but it turned out to be useful for securing goods.

They passed by the Tree of Offering.

Not far from its location, the cart went to a stop.

Christina got off the cart. She walked a few steps forward, in front of the cart. Her eyes, her hair, and even her demeanor changed with every step she took.

Her fingertip lit up with a small orb light and used it like a pen writing through the air. Traces of light were left, and unconventional letters started to form words to a sentence.

After she finished writing, she pushed the free-floating letters ever so slightly.

The letters seemed to hit an unknown transparent wall.

One by one, the letters were absorbed through and faded. The thin substance blocking the way seemed to burn, creating a passage.